


The Day We Met

by popejimin



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Brothers Germany & Prussia (Hetalia), Hetalia Countries Using Human Names, M/M, Protective Switzerland
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2019-08-24 17:55:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16645031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/popejimin/pseuds/popejimin
Summary: Gilbert and his younger brother Ludwig have just arrived at America to live with their father and away from their home country, Germany. As they try to adjust to their new life in a new country and obstacles and mishaps keep happening and while so their bond as siblings grow stronger. Along the way, Gilbert meets a Starbucks barista that he so happens to like upon who also attends the same school as him. Quick glances and small meaningful conversations. The seasons are changing and time is passing. And soon enough, it would be long walks together at the park, a cup of coffee together at the cafe, and the warmth of each other's hands during the long, cold winter.





	1. eins

**Author's Note:**

> words in italic or bold, etc means that the character is speaking in a different language other than english
> 
> italics - german

Saturday, August 15th  
6:50 PM  
LaGuardia Airport, New York|

 

“Hello, passengers on board. You have arrive at your destination.”

A teenage boy, about 15 years old tried to shake his brother awake. “ _Brother, we’re here. Wake up_.”

Eyes fluttering open, the other lad, around 18 years old replied, “ _We’re here already, West?_ ”

“ _Yeah, we are. Get your stuff, dad is waiting for us_.” ‘West’ stood up and got his and his older brother’s carry-on from above there seat. “ _Here_.”

“ _Thanks, West. Now let’s go_.” They got their belongings and left. “ _We get our suitcases here, right?_ ” The older asked.

“ _I think so_ ,” ‘West’ replied.

“ _Gilbert! Ludwig!_ ” Someone had called them. They turned around and saw their dad waiting for them. “ _You got your suitcases yet?_ ” He asked.

“ _Nope not yet,_ ” Ludwig replied. As the suitcases came, all eyes were searching for their belongings.

“ _Aha, found mines. Oh and there’s yours_ ,” Gilbert exclaimed.

As they left the airport and got into the car, their dad asked, “ _Y_ _ou ready for a new life here in America._ ”

“ _Yeah, I guess so_ ,” Ludwig replied. “ _What about you, brother?_ ”

Gilbert hesitated and sighed. “ _Hm maybe…Still prefer Germany._ ”

“ _We all do, Gilbert_ ,” his dad said. It was silence after that. Mr. Beilschmidt wasn’t a talkative one and so were his sons.

Guess it runs in the bloodline. Gilbert Beilschmidt compared to the his brother and father was definitely more talkative. But that’s just his outer appearance and personality. In reality, if you don’t talk to him, he don’t talk to you. Simple, as that. The rest of the ride to their new home was quiet like before and as usual. Mr. Beilschmidt was focusing on driving. Ludwig was sleeping and Gilbert was staring at the window, gazing at the streets of New York...his new home.


	2. zwei

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> italics - german

August 20  
11:00 AM  
Streets of New York|

 

With his phone in his hands, the blonde almost white haired boy went out of his new found home and into the streets of New York. “ _ Ah, so that’s how you get to the supermarket _ ,” he said to himself as he walking. “ _ Hm, this place actually feels pretty close to Berlin, but more people and louder, I suppose. _ ” 

 

“ _ Reach the supermarket, seems cool _ .” Gilbert walked inside as a large burst of cold wind was felt against his body. He walked around the supermarket, exploring most areas in it and decided to leave when he was bored. “ _ I heard the Starbucks here are pretty nice. Might as well, buy something for dad and West like the good brother and son I am, _ ” he thought as he searched for the fastest route to Starbucks. As he walked to his destination, he would constantly attract a group of pigeons then and so. Finally he saw the big green sign with the Starbucks siren on it. 

 

The coffee shop was bustling with people like always. Gilbert took a good look at the menu and tried to practice saying the words as best as he can. His English was pretty damn good for someone who has spent his last 17 to 18 years in Germany, but when he spoke some certain words, you could hear a prominent German accent. Usually in his free time, back in Germany, he would try and learn other languages. 

 

“ _ Hm, better call West and ask what he wants _ ,” he muttered to himself. He dialed his brother’s number into his phone and waited for him to pick up

 

“ _ What do you want, bruder? _ ” Ludwig answered.

 

“ _ I’m at Starbucks right now. Just asking what you and dad want _ ,” Gilbert said quickly.  

 

“ _ Wow, that’s a surprise, _ ” Ludwig replied with a hint of amusement in his voice.

 

“ _ I don’t know what your talking about, West. I am your awesome big bruder after all. You must be blessed to be related to me and share the same bloodline as the awesome me _ ,” said Gilbert boastingly. “ _ Now tell me what you two want. Quick _ .”

 

“ _ Okay, I think I’m going to go with iced coffee; grande and dad said he wanted a grande  _ Cordusio.”

 

“ _ Corduso what? _ ” He said confused.

 

“Cordusio,” Ludwig said slowly.

 

“ _ Yeah, okay whatever. I’m going to get it figured out sooner or later. Bye, West. _ ” The brothers said their farewells and Gilbert put his phone in the pocket of his jacket and took out his wallet. “ _ Damn let’s hope I have enough money for my drink, too _ .”


	3. drei

August 20  
11:15 AM  
Starbucks|

 

Roderich huffed a little as more and more customers flooded in. “Since when has this place been so busy,” he muttered. 

 

“Like since forever,” someone replied. Roderich looked up and to see his fellow Starbucks coworker, Vash rolling his eyes at him. “Can’t believe someone so sensible like you, would ask such a stupid question.”

Roderich began to sighed again. “If we switch positions, would you stop sighing?” Basch asked.

 

“Mmh, sure. Not that it matters,” Roderich replied. Basch once again rolled his eyes and ran his hands through his blonde locks.

 

Roderich went up to the counter while Basch went to make the drinks. At the counter, there was a boy with platinum blonde hair that looked almost strikingly silverish white with a pair of unusual mischievous ruby red eyes. Roderich then found himself staring at this boy, whom he has never seen before. He snapped out of his trance, as he realized that he was suppose to take his order. “Uh hello, what would you like?” He asked and smiling a little so he would look tad bit welcoming.

 

“Never thought you would ask. Can I order a two grande iced coffee and a tall Corduseio, however you pronounce that,” the boy said with a playful smile on his face. 

 

“Okay, got that and what’s your name?”

 

“Gilbert,” the boy answered. “Ah, Gilbert, so that’s his name,” Roderich thought and he wrote down his name on the cups. He noticed that Gilbert was staring intently at him. But when he looked up at him, the silver-haired male gaze away and looked at the counter instead. 

 

“Your total is $9.50,” Roderich said. Gilbert reached into his pockets to retrieve his wallet and handed $10 to Roderich. He took the money and gave back Gilbert’s change as he watched him walk away from him.

 

All the while, he was taking the customer’s orders, he kept on thinking about the mysterious silver-haired male with those bright red eyes. He took another look at him again, but this time he saw that Gilbert’s eyes weren’t fully red. Under the light casted by the sun from the window, he could see that his eyes were red-blue or possibly even violet, like a mixture of them. Those were the most unusual and strangest pair of eyes, but certainly the most breathtaking one he has ever seen in his life. He watched his mouth turned slightly up fabricating a small smile on his face as he said ‘thank you’ to his coworker that handed him his drinks. He was starstruck by this boy he has just seen and met for 3 minutes. The color of his platinum hair complemented his ruby-diamond eyes and his fair skin. His red jacket he was wearing really showed off the color of his eyes. To Roderich he was beautiful and he still remembered the playful smile that lingered on Gilbert’s face when he was ordering. But his thoughts were soon interrupted when Basch tapped on his shoulders. 

 

“The fuck are you doing, staring into space like that,” he scolded.

 

“Sorry, just thinking,” Roderich replied.

 

“Just thinking? But can you focus on your job more. I’m starting to wonder how you even got this job.” Basch shook his head in disappointment. 

 

Roderich smiled apologetically at Basch and resume to work. His mind, of course, was still lingering on the thought of Gilbert. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know these chapters are short but please bear with me


	4. vier

1:00 PM  
August 20  
On the streets|

 

Gilbert walked home thinking about the guy who just took his order. “ _He did take fairly long to ask for my order though_ ,” he thought to himself. What Gilbert really took note of was that . . . that guy sure was . . . cute? He liked how his face blushed a shade of dusty rose when he realized that he was staring at Gilbert. He liked how the corners of his lips turned a bit upwards, making a small awkward smile. He liked how his violet eyes was staring intently at him, or so that’s how Gilbert thought he was doing. Gilbert preferred to say that the violet-eyed boy was staring at him because he was just oh-so-awesome, just like he always is. “ _He must be jealous of the increasing awesomeness I have_ ,” he said with a smug grin.

 

On the rest of his way back home, Gilbert distracted himself by looking at the area and the nature around him. Of course, there were a few pigeons here and there since it’s the Gilbert Beilschmidt. So awesome even birds flocks over to him and “swoons” over him. But somewhere in his mind, he was still lingering on the violet-eyed boy who he met at Starbucks.

 

When he reached home, he handed the drinks to his dad and brother and went to get his own drink. “You look rather happy today,” Ludwig said, taking note of his brother’s little smile. “ _Did something happen?_ ”

 

Gilbert shrugged and said what he would always say: “ _Nothing really happen today. Guess I’m too awesome for some action in my life_.”

 

His brother laughed a little and rolled his eyes at him. “ _Is it hard to navigate around here, brother_?”

 

“ _I suppose it is, but that’s doesn’t really matter. What I can say is that it’s different from Germany_ ,” Gilbert replied.

 

“ _Mhm, yeah._ ” Ludwig nodded his head and continued to drink his coffee.

 

The brothers continued to talk and shared stories of their life back in Germany. Little stories that can bring happiness and sweet laughs  between them and even a couple of chuckles from their father, which was quite rare, since Mr. Beilschmidt wasn’t really the type to smile a lot. He usually had on a serious face quite like his younger son, Ludwig who took on most of his facial features. Gilbert on the other side, was born a bit unusual. His hair IS blonde, but it was just really really pale. So pale it looked like it was white. If you look closer though, there is still hints of blonde peeking through here and there. His eyes, oh god. His eyes were of a different story. His oldest son was just very different. But no matter the differences, he loves them a lot, but he likes Ludwig better since he wasn’t as loud as his older brother.

 

“ _So when does school start here, in America?_ ” Gilbert asked.

 

“ _On September in New York. Other states might start during August_ ,” his father replied. “ _Why don’t you guys go and hone your English skills._ ”

 

“ _Aw come on. You know my English is awesome already. What if it gets so awesome, all them Americans are going to get jealous of me?_ ” Gilbert responded, laughing.

 

Ludwig and his father sighed and rolled their eyes simultaneously.

 

**___________________**

 

9:00 PM  
August 20  
Starbucks|

 

“Finally my shift is over. I can go home now.” Roderich stretched himself as he went to get his things to get ready to go home.

 

“Hey, Roderich.” Roderich turned around to find himself face to face with Basch.

 

“What is it that you want?” He asked.

 

“I’m just asking if you want a ride home today. Erika came to pick me up and wanted me to ask you if you want a ride.” Basch looked away and waited for the other’s answer.

 

“Well, if you insist...Sure,” Roderich replied with a smile.

 

Basch mention him to follow him to his car. When they arrived, Erika, who was Basch’s younger sister, greeted both of them happily. “I’m so happy that I am able to send you home, Mr. Edelstein,” she said. Erika who was 14, did not have a car, but she felt the need to pick her brother up at work.  It made her feel responsible and that she can assist her brother somehow. The Zwingli siblings were both very protective over each other. So much it can get quite a bit complicated. You hurt one of them, you would have to deal with the other.

 

“Aha, Erika, you don’t need to refer to me as Mr. Edelstein. Just call me Roderich. No need to be so formal,” Roderich said. Erika sure was a polite girl, maybe a bit too polite.

 

“You should be grateful for her, Roderich. If my sister didn’t suggest to give you a FREE ride home, you would’ve paid $2.75 for the bus or walked home alone. We both know you get tired just by walking a measly 0.3 miles,” Basch said gruffly as he emphasized on the word ‘free’. Basch wasn’t that type of person who give free rides or free things in general to anyone unless Erika insisted on it or you were one of his close friends.

 

“Excuse you, I do not get tired from walking 0.3 miles,” Roderich said, quite offended by the Swiss’s exaggeration.

“Erika, tell me I’m not exaggerating. For I am only speaking the truth,” Basch said with a little grin.

 

Erika giggled at the two and their conversation. “I mean, you do get tired easily, Mr. Edelstein. I mean Roderich, excuse me.”

 

 “Not you, too, Erika!” Roderich shook his head while the Zwingli siblings laughed aloud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i really love switzerland and liechtenstein's relationship. it's so cute.


	5. fünf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> italics - german

8:45 AM  
Hetalia Academy  
September 5|

 

It has been weeks since Gilbert arrived in America and it was his first day of school in this new place. To be frank, he was nervous. It’s sounds absurd, but Gilbert Beilschmidt is nervous. How could a self-proclaimed king be nervous? On the other hand, Ludwig looks like he is doing fine, but he’s really not. Just like his older brother. They were both able to hide the nervousness quite well. 

 

On Gilbert’s way to his second period class, he someone that caught his eye. This person had long, flowing shoulder-length blonde locks and his eyes were of a deep blue. “ _ Hey isn’t that the weird French guy that I met back in Germany? _ ” Gilbert thought. Before he came here, Gilbert worked in a little cafe back in Berlin. It was a Monday, so he only had an morning shift and after that he could go home and do whatever he wished to do. During his morning shift, a tourist came in to get a cup of coffee, since he had heard that the coffee here was the best and tasted like heavens. 

  
__________

 

Morning  
Cafe in Berlin, Germany  
July 17|

 

“ _ Hello there, my friend. Do you speak English or French perhaps? _ ” The tourist asked. 

 

“I know English and my French isn’t that good, I just know a little,” Gilbert answered. “So what would you like?”

 

“Ah, you know French, that is quite amazing, dear! Hm, what you recommend me, my friend. For I am just an tourist around here,” he asked.

 

“I recommend our iced coffee. It’s a simple order for a starters here. So how’d you like Berlin so far?”

 

“It’s pretty nice, I like it.” 

 

The tourist continued to flirt with Gilbert indirectly while he was taking his order. “Ah, I forgot to mention, my name is Francis Bonnefoy,” the tourist said. “What’s yours, my friend?”

 

“Name’s Gilbert Beilschmidt. Nice to meet you, Francis.” Gilbert went to make Francis his drink. While making the iced coffee, he felt this constant stare at his back which made him uncomfortable. He looked back to see Francis, his new customer of the day to be staring at him. They made eye-contact and the Frenchman winked at him and said something on the line of this: “I know I look handsome. You don’t need to stare, dear.” This made Gilbert turn right back into making his drink. When he finished making the iced coffee, he went up to the tourist and said “Excuse me, but weren’t you the one who was staring at me so intently first? I mean I never knew I was so amazingly awesome to stare at?” He raised one of his brows at the tourist. 

 

Francis blushed a little, light pink dusting his fair skin, but quickly regaining his composure and dignity. “Well, I’m glad that you now know that you are,” he winked and smiled. 

 

“And you are, too.” Gilbert said as he winked back. “Well, anyways my shift is almost over and it was nice meeting you. Have a good trip here in Germany!” 

 

Francis smiled as he headed to the door of the cafe. “It would be a pleasure to see you again, my friend.” He blew a little kiss at Gilbert and left. 

 

**_This was the marking of the Frenchman._ **

 

__________

 

Back at Hetalia Academy|

 

“ _ It’s that flirty French guy, Francis. He’s in high school, wow. He looks older than he is. I thought he was in college already. It must have been his beard. _ ” Gilbert said to himself. He noticed another guy standing next to Francis. He had a fairly nice tanned skin which pair well with his olive green eyes. 

 

Francis looked up from his conversation with his green-eyed companion to find himself looking at red and blue eyed German. “Oh my. Antonio look, it’s the handsome German that I met during my trip to Germany this summer. Look at his face, my friend. Look at his hair and eyes. Can’t you see the perfection peaking through. He is so handsome, I could lick him!” Francis exclaimed. He went up to Gilbert, but Gilbert tried to walk away since he needed to get to his next class. “Oh don’t go, mon ami.” Francis pleaded.

 

“What do you want?” Gilbert asked firmly. He needed to get to class and he knew he should’ve not stared at Francis too long. 

 

“Is this fate that brought us together again, mon amour because I think it is.” Francis said. “I told you, he was good-looking. Probably much better than the one you saw last summer back in Madrid.” He playfully nudged at his friend’s arm with a smile. 

 

“Yeah, nice to meet you. You look familiar. Name’s Gilbert,” he quickly introduced himself to the brunette. 

 

“Now that you say that, you look familiar as well!!” Antonio said with a big smile.

 

“Look, I’m glad that I am able to socialize with people here, but I gotta go now and I’m pretty sure you both have classes as well,” Gilbert said as he walked away.

 

“Hey wait, what class do you have?” Antonio and Francis asked. 

 

“I have art..”

 

“Same, mi amigo!” Antonio exclaimed. 

 

“Aw, I won’t be able to spend time with my newfound German friend, anymore.” Francis said as he took out a handkerchief and weep silently. 

 

“I guess I’ll see you at lunch, I suppose,” Gilbert said unsurely. Maybe he doesn’t even have the same lunch period as Francis or Antonio. “If you have 5th period lunch, that is.”

 

“Bless the gods. They have my silent prayer. See you at lunch, dear.” Francis winked seductively and went away to his 2nd period class.

 

Gilbert and his newfound companion, Antonio walked together to art class, chit-chatting on the way,  but both of them can’t help but wonder...Have they met before? And if so, where did they met?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **❝This was the marking of the  
> ** _**Frenchman.** _ **❞**


	6. sechs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys and i'm BACK with a new chapter! *does the jeffreystar intro*
> 
> I actually think this is the longest I've written currently for this story. What a feat! I managed to finish this from yesterday afternoon to today at 9 pm. There was just so much to write about. Hope y'all enjoy this chapter.
> 
> italics - german

11:00 AM  
September 5  
Hetalia Academy|

 

Gilbert found his way to his math class, calculus to be specific. Gilbert did not like calculus. No one likes calculus. How could someone even like something so horrible and torturing like this?! The German was so looking forward to go to calculus. His old pre-calc teacher back in Germany was very strict on her students and all he was wishing for right now, is a nice teacher. Gilbert clutched at his cross, which dangled over his neck and prayed immensely. He quickly entered the classroom to see a bunch of students crowding over the teacher’s desk. He went forward to look at what all the commotion was all about. “ _Hm, assigned seats, I see_ ”, he thought. When he was finally able to get a glimpse of the paper, he scanned it for his name. Turns out he is going to sit alone, in the back. “ _Alone? Not bad_ ”, he muttered under his breath.

 

As he walked towards his seat, his eyes met another. There was that familiar violet glint to it that he somehow could not wrap around. Gilbert looked away and proceeded to sit down and take out his stuff for the class. The teacher comes in and introduces himself. “Hello, everyone. I am Mr. Ainsworth and as you may all know, I teach calculus and I also teach pre-calc, too. Now let’s go over some of the rules in this classroom..” The teacher says.

 

Throughout the whole lecture, Gilbert couldn’t help but just stare at the guy who was sitting in front of him. The German knew he had saw those pair of violet eyes somewhere! And that pair of glasses! The guy looked so familiar, but Gilbert just couldn’t think of where he saw this person. His mind was filled with thoughts and questions. It frustrated him that he didn’t know who this person was. He knew he met that violet-eyed man somewhere. The awesome him just didn’t know it!

 

All throughout class, he barely even paid attention to what the teacher was talking. Either ways, he wasn’t teaching anyways. His ex-teacher from Germany would definitely start teaching on the first day of school. This one, however did not, which was quite a relief to Gilbert. All he needed to do was focus on the person sitting in front of him, whom he did not know, but he knew he saw him somewhere and patiently wait for the bell to ring. “ _Why am I so occupied by this stranger who I don’t even know?_ ” He questioned himself. He did not know this person and yet he just couldn’t stop thinking about him.

 

“I will try my best to memorize and say everyone’s names correctly, so please bear with me,” Mr. Ainsworth said to the class. He later then called out everyone’s name to which Gilbert listened intently because he thought that if he hears the name of the guy sitting in front of him, maybe he would recall where he met him and why the hell he looked so damn familiar!! As the teacher called out everyone’s name by row, it finally landed on the brunette with the violet-eyes. Gilbert’s ears perked up as he listened. “Roderich Edelstein? Did I say that right?” Mr Ainsworth asked.

 

Roderich replied with a quick ‘yes’ as the teacher went on to the next person. “ _Roderich Edelstein? Roderich…_ ” Gilbert said to himself. “ _Ah! He was the guy at Starbucks that kept on staring at me instead of taking the order!_ ” He mused to himself and felt quite proud that he finally discovered where he met the brunette at.

 

At last, it was Gilbert’s turn. “Gilbert Beelschmidt? Is that right? It probably isn’t right?” Mr. Ainsworth asked him unsure.

 

“It’s Beilschmidt,” Gilbert answered.

 

“Beilschmidt.”

 

“Yes.” At that moment, he saw Roderich turned around to face him. Their eyes locked for a quick second and he turned away to face the front of the classroom again. Gilbert felt his heart thumping against his chest so hard when Roderich turn to face him. He didn’t know why that happened, but it did. Maybe it was those violet eyes of his or his petite face in general. He’s never going to say this aloud and is never going to admit it aloud, but . . . Roderich Edelstein was one hell of a pretty boy. “ _I have never been so gay in my life before_ ,” He whispers silently. “ _Goddamnit.”_

 

At last, the bell rang and all the students flooded out of their classrooms to their next period class. Gilbert himself, had lunch and he was going to meet up with his two new acquaintances, Francis and Antonio. Unfortunately, the two brothers did not have the same lunch period together. Gilbert hasn’t seen his brother since they parted their ways during the beginning of school.

 

After walking for a minute around in the school, Gilbert finally found the cafeteria. It was hard, trying to find his class even though when he and his brother went to enroll at this place during August, one of the staff members had showed them around the school, but you know . . . from late August to early September . . . that is a lot of days and it is very easy to forget. “ _What’s so good about a tour if you show it weeks earlier? I barely remember where all my classes are_ ,” Gilbert said as he rolled his eyes. He scanned the cafeteria for Francis and Antonio. “ _It can't be that hard to find that French guy. His beard and hair stands out. They should be here somewhere,_ ” he thought.   
  
Just then, someone from behind his back came bursting towards him and hugs him. “ _What the fuck!_ ” Gilbert cusses as he almost jumped from that scare. Turns out it was only Antonio. “ _Goddamnit, I just screamed in the middle of the cafeteria. That was so unawesome,_ ” Gilbert thought. “The fuck is wrong with you, surprising me like that,” He said as he fumed in anger at his new acquaintance. He felt some eyes looking at him when he yelled. You could say that this Beilschmidt sure was embarrassed.

 

“Aww, my little bunny is scared,” Francis cooed in a sickening ‘cute’ voice. Gilbert looked at him and cringed so hard internally and externally.

 

“Well, mi amigo! Let’s find a spot in the cafeteria, then!!” Antonio exclaimed cheerfully as he walked past the two.

 

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” the German muttered. He was still very pissed at that jump scare that Antonio pulled on him. His nerves might have been extra sensitive today since this is his first time at a unfamiliar place and he is nervous, not that he is ever going to admit it because his ego is too big. He and Francis follows Antonio to wherever he was going. When they finally spotted the perfect place for them to sit, the three immediately ran to that area to claim it.

 

“Mon ami . . . I still remember the first time we met at that cute little Berlin coffee shop. We were bounded by fate when our eyes met one anothers . . . And to see you again. It’s quite a miracle.” The French went on and on talking and blabbering on how they met.

 

“Aha. He has already told me this a couple of times already. I’m just going to tell you this, mi amigo. He flirts with every homo sapien his eyes can see,” Antonio said to Gilbert. They both shared a good laugh together as Francis seemed quite annoyed at the fact that they didn’t seem to be listening to him talk about a very important story.

 

“I know and I can see that. I mean, who the hell, comes in and immediately flirts with the cashier?” Gilbert said jokingly.

 

“Well, Francis does,” Antonio said and once again the German and the Spaniard laughed again leaving Francis in the dust with their little jokes.

 

“Say . . . you guys said you look familiar to each other,” Francis began. He raised one brow suggestively. “Have you two ever met before?”

 

“I don’t know. I don’t remember everyone I meet and greet,” Gilbert answered quickly. Gilbert was also curious on where he met the Spaniard before. They both seemed to recognize each other. “You’ve been to Madrid, before?” He asked.

 

“¡Ay Dios mios! How could you ask such a question??” Antonio exclaimed in disbelief and shock. “Well of course, I have been to Madrid before. I am of Spanish heritage,” He continued in shock at the German.

 

“No need to get so enraged, but I’ve been to Madrid before a 1 or 2 years ago, can’t remember. I think I might have saw you somewhere at Madrid,” Gilbert added. He remembered when he went to Madrid on summer vacation with his brother, he met a very slow supermarket cashier there. The cashier would literally spend years talking to the customer instead of actually doing his assigned job. The two German brothers had waited for ages until finally it was finally their turn. Gilbert looked at Antonio and scanned his eyes over the Spaniard. He stopped when he reached those bright olive eyes of his. That was when the German realized something. “YOU! You were that damn cashier that was taking so long when me and my brother visited that supermarket!” Gilbert exclaimed. He was quite angry during that time at the Spanish supermarket.

 

“OH! I remember you now,” Antonio said with his mouth gaping.

 

“Ohonhonhon, mon ami. So he was that attractive guy you were talking about last time, hmm,” Francis mused. He snickered at the two.

 

Gilbert sighed in disbelief. “Whatever, let’s get lunch. The line’s long anyways.” He brushed it off and got up and went to the line. The other two followed him and went on the line as well. Afterwards, after waiting on line, the trio finally got their lunch and headed back to their seat in the cafeteria. The rest of the time was followed by a awkward silence which to Gilbert was unbearable. “So . . . are you guys foreign exchange students or something?” He asked, praying silently that the awkwardness will just fade away and that a normal conversation would start again.

 

“I am but Antonio isn’t. I remembered when I first came here for the foreign exchange program. It was terrible. Didn’t know anything, but lovely Antonio helped me out, right, mon ami,” Francis answered. He still misses his old home back at France, but what could be done? And either ways, he actually quite enjoyed it here in America, although it was definitely different here.

 

“Mmh, my parents and I were immigrants from España. Actually many people that are come here to this school are actually foreigners. Not saying that there are no Americans here, but it’s mostly foreigners. You see that loud kid over there with the blond hair and blue eyes wearing glasses,” Spain added.

 

“Yeah, him. He’s pretty loud,” Gilbert acknowledged as he nodded along.

 

“Apparently he was born in Washington D.C. The kid’s so American. I can’t even,” Francis said laughing.

 

“Ah, no wonder. He has that typical American stereotype. I swear his laugh is so loud, it sounds exaggerated,” Gilbert said. All three of them laughed at that remark. “My name is Gilbert and I am AMERICAN!” The German gave a big thumbs up and flashed the American smile.

 

Francis on the other hand was drinking his precious _eau_ had spitted out some of his water when he heard Gilbert said that. “My name is Francis and I am AMERICAN!” He said. The trio bursted out laughing as they all took turns acting it out.

 

Unfortunately, the bell rang. The fun was over and it was time for class. Surprisingly, Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio immediately clicked together. It was like they were meant to be friends. Their sense of humor were quite similar, too. “ _Damn, I wonder how I became so close to those two,_ ” he wondered. “ _Now where the actual fuck is my 6th class period class!”_

 

__________

 

11:40 AM  
September 5  
Hetalia Academy|

 

Roderich silently cursed to himself as he turned away from Gilbert. Those piercing red eyes of his were enough to make him look away. “Oh my god. He’s in my class,” he thought in shock. He waited silently for the bell to ring. Roderich could almost feel his heart jumping out when he saw Gilbert. It was something he hasn’t felt for years, perhaps centuries to be exaggerated. The bell rang and he grabbed his stuff and rushed out of the classroom. “Let’s see . . . I have lunch next,” he mutters. Roderich hurries to the cafeteria so that he could meet up with his friends: Basch and Elizabeta. Unfortunately, Erika didn’t have lunch with them, even though the four practically had the same lunch period for like the past few years.

 

A white blur zoomed past him as Roderich walked to the cafeteria. He took a closer look to see it was Gilbert. “He seems confused. Probable lost,” Roderich thought. The lad shrugged it off and proceeded to walk to the cafeteria. When he entered, he searched for his friends.

 

“Hey Roderich! Here!” He hears someone yell to him. Roderich turns to the voice to see his friend Elizabeta. He hurries to her and settles down with her and Basch.

 

“So, ya got lost or something. What took you so long? It’s your senior year here, already. There is no way you would still get lost, huh,” Elizabeta said as he sat down.

 

“Mmh. Obviously looking at the type of person he is, he definitely got lost,” Basch added, taking a bite out of his sandwich that his younger sister made for him.

“Excuse you, but I did not get lost. I was just . . . I was just walking a bit slow, that’s all,” Roderich answered quickly quite offended by his two friend’s remarks.

 

“Slow, huh? Well, of course. It’s either one or the other. You’re either lost or you’re just walking at your turtle speed,” Basch replied as he continued to eat his lunch.

 

The other was about to retort back to the Swiss when he heard a yell from the other side of the cafeteria. A loud ‘What the fuck!’ was heard. Roderich’s eyes widen as he realized it was Gilbert Beilschmidt . . . again. He was with two other guys that he perceived as Francis and Antonio. He found it surprising that he already had made some friends on his first day. “Say . . . Roderich,” Basch began slowly. Roderich turned to face his friend as he continued to speak. “Isn’t that white-haired guy that person you were staring at a few weeks ago while you were working, hmm?” The Swiss raised his eyebrows suggestively at that comment while Elizabeta gave him the **_smile_ **.

 

“Yes, he is. Whatever. Just stop looking at me like that.” Roderich rolled his eyes at his two friends while Basch and Elizabeta just bursted out laughing. “Come on, Elizabeta. Let’s get lunch before the line gets too long.”

 

“Isn’t it always long, Rod?” Elizabeta stated. Roderich rolled his eyes as he mentioned a ‘come on’ to his female friend.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For all my next upcoming chapters, I really want to incorporate both Roderich and Gilbert into the chapter. I want to give them both some 'screen time' in one whole chapter instead of separating it into two which was my original plan, but I decided a few days ago that this would be better. Although, it was so much more shorter on Roderich's side in this chapter.


	7. sieben

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys, i have finally finished writing this chapter in around 2 months i think. honestly i was just slacking off, i literally didn't write anything for the past few months. i've really started to continue working on it the past following weeks. 
> 
> PLEASE READ THIS  
> i don't want to have any confusion, so i've realized that i have not thought this through enough. it's with the characters's age. so in the first few chapters, i talked about erika/liechtenstein driving since that time i decided that she was going to be 16 and completely forgot about germany. i planned to make him in high school, too so like 3 years younger than prussia. that was the thing i forgot about since i'm such a dumb fuck. so now liechtenstein is now the same age as germany which doesn't make sense really since in the anime, she's younger than germany. i've thought about rewriting it, but then i really liked how this was going and i do like the idea of liechtenstein driving, but i want germany to be around 3 years younger than prussia. so i'm frustrated about this whole age thing, but anyways it's just me overthinking, so it's fine. sorry it was so long, i just felt the need to put this out there, even though it may not really matter. 
> 
> german - italics

Friday  
7:45 AM  
Streets|

 

“Brother, school starts at 8, right?” Ludwig asked as he and his brother were walking to school.

 

“You don’t say huh, West. Why are you speaking in English all of a sudden?” Gilbert replied mockingly and sarcastically.

 

“I was just making sure and me speaking English is my choice, brother.” Ludwig huffed as his older brother laughed and patted his back.

 

“So . . . West. Met anyone you like,” Gilbert asked to keep the conversation flowing, leaning towards his brother’s face with a look.

 

“Well . . . there is this guy that seems nice, but his brother is a bit . . . how I should I word it . . . mean?” Ludwig’s face turned a light shade of pink when he mentioned whoever the person he met. Seeing his brother’s little blush, Gilbert gave him that look once again. “Whatever. It doesn’t matter,” Ludwig said trying to brush it off.

 

“Aww. West likes someone!” Gilbert teasingly exclaimed while his brother repeatedly told him to shut up and that he doesn’t. “Anyways, who’s that guy that’s bothering you, huh. Your awesome big brother will go over to him and teach him a lesson. Tell him to meet me up after school. No one messes with my little brother!” The older German puffed up his chest to show his strength as the younger simply just shook his head. “You know I’m joking, West . . . But if he does, just tell me okay?”

 

“Yeah yeah, brother. Now let’s hurry up. It’s about to be red light now,” Ludwig said. The two brothers walked faster as they tried to cross the road before it turned red. 

 

Gilbert and Ludwig had a very close relationship and in some ways, Gilbert acted like the father figure in his younger brother’s life. Growing up, Gilbert had saw his mother died when she gave birth to her youngest son. That day was depressing for him as a very young child and on that day, he vowed to his mother that he will protect his younger brother with all his might and all his strength and that he will never let her down. His father was busy as always and usually was not home to take care of both of his sons properly. He needed to work to support the family and the death of his wife, deeply devastated him. Even his boss gave him a break from his job to take care of young Ludwig and it the meantime, he had to find a part time job so that he can still pay the living fees for him, Gilbert, and his youngest son, Ludwig.  Growing up, Gilbert and Ludwig were 3 years apart. Now Gilbert 17, turning 18 soon with Ludwig at the age of 14, turning 15 soon, the upcoming year. He had witnessed his mother’s death at the young age of 3, but at that time, he did not fully understand the whole concept of death, but he knew his mother was gone after his brother’s birth. His three year old self couldn’t exactly process the thoughts, he WAS still three years old, but all he knew was that she will not be there anymore and that he will have a brother to take care of. 

 

__________

 

“ _ Mommy, are you not going to be here anymore?”  _ A young Gilbert cried out.

 

But there was no answer from his mother, for his mother had already passed away during the birth process of his new brother Ludwig. The nurse looked at him with a sad smile. “ _ I am so sorry, your mommy is gone now. _ ”

 

3 year old, toddler, Gilbert did not understand it completely but he knew his mom was gone. “ _ Mommy is going to heaven, right? _ ” He looked at the nurse with his big bright eyes and curiosity. 

 

“ _ Yes, mommy is going to heaven, _ ” the nurse said as she was caressing Gilbert’s hair, trying to soothe him.

 

“ _ Mommy must be in heaven right now. She must be happy! _ ” He exclaimed. 

 

The only thing, the nurse could do was to nod along. She was surprised that he wasn’t sad. There was no tears in his eyes which made her wonder. “ _ Gilbert, dear. Aren’t you sad that mommy isn’t going to be here anymore? _ ”

 

“ _ I am sad, but if mommy is happy in heaven . . . then I am happy, too. _ ” He gave her a big smile. His father who was by the side of the bed, listening to his son and the nurse’s conversation broke into tears. 

 

“ _You think she’s going to be happy, Gilbert,_ ” He asked to his son. Gilbert replied with a quick yes. “ _If you say she’s happy, then she’s happy . . ._ _and Gilbert . . . you must take care of your younger brother, okay?_ ” And then he was met with a cheerful and loud, ‘yes’.

 

__________

 

People might think Gilbert must have hated his brother for that, but no. That moment, he laid his eyes on his younger brother. There was that feeling of strangeness, he was not ready to become a big brother yet, but as time passed, he grew to dote on his brother and affectionately even call him ‘West’. Because their father wasn’t there for them, Gilbert technically raised Ludwig up. People have commented on Ludwig on how bright he shined, it was like he was a star in the night sky that shined bright. And who exactly taught him that? Of course, it was the Gilbert Beilschmidt. 

 

“What are you are thinking about, brother?” Ludwig’s deep voice rang through Gilbert’s ear. 

 

“Oh, I’m just thinking about the past. If mom was still here . . . Would we still be in America?” He said. 

 

At the mention of their mother, Ludwig’s expression immediately turned sorrowful. He lowered his head in dismay, knowing that their mother died when she gave birth to him. A quiet and muffled ‘sorry’ escaped his lips. Gilbert looked at his brother and sighed and pulled him  into his embrace. “West, seriously. You know I don’t blame you. It wasn’t your fault. Things like just happen. We just don’t know when it will happen.” 

 

“You’re right.” He replied in a small voice. 

 

That was then Ludwig’s head shot quickly, his face red as a beet. He quickly pulled away from his brother’s embrace, making Gilbert in a confused state. It was then Gilbert realized why and he looked at the younger with a sick smile on his face. “West, huh . . . You’re embarrassed are you. Should I keep hugging you, huh?” 

 

“ _ Please don’t! _ ” He yelled and distanced himself from the older. 

 

Gilbert laughed as he shook his head. “You use to like hugging me. I remember -” But his voice was cutted off by Ludwig covering his mouth. 

 

“Can we just get going to school?” He took the older’s hand and practically dragged him all the way to the academy. Gilbert, behind Ludwig just thought, “ _ This must be puberty, huh. Hmph, I miss my cute little brother from many years ago _ .” He just sighed and let himself get dragged all the way to school. 

 

When the brothers arrived, they parted ways and said their goodbyes. Each were headed to their lockers to put there stuff in. Gilbert was trudging through the hallway as he went to his locker. He entered the hallway that his locker was located at and proceeded to open it. A subtle ‘click’ was heard when it was unlocked. He opened it with dread in his eyes. “ _ I can feel my depression swallowing me up whenever I open this ‘thing’ _ ,” He muttered as he took out his things. 

 

“Dude, same here.” The German turned to his left at the voice. He ended up staring right at this brunette with a pair of fierce green eyes. It was different than Antonio’s, his was like a olive and was filled with happiness and sunshine, but her eyes carried a strong sense of strongness and a mix between maniless and femininity. 

 

“You know German?” He asked in shock. 

 

The girl nodded as she opened her locker and replied, “Well I understand a little bit. Not a lot.” She took out a book and a notebook for her designated 1st period class and continued. “Name’s Elizabeta.”

 

“Elizabeta . . . Mine’s Gilbert,” He gave an small smile and seeing that she returned his smile, he walked off to his 1st period class. While walking to his class, his mind lingered on the girl he just met. Her locker was right next to his and she was indeed pretty. “There’s this manly vibe I feel from her or maybe it’s just me,” he thought. “Yeah it’s probably just me.”

 

__________

Friday  
8:01 AM  
Study Hall|

 

Elizabeta walked to the school’s cafeteria since the study lounge was in use today for some meeting. She spotted Roderich and quickly went up to him and grabbed him on the shoulders. He turned around knowing it was her. Roderich was used to it and no one else would just grab him on the shoulders like that. “So Roderich . . . I met the new guy today,” she slurred. He looked at her in confusion as if not knowing what she was talking about. “Rod, it’s that new German guy that you were crushing on, remember?”

 

“Crushing on?” His face turned red and he quickly brushed the statement off. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. He just looked nice.”

 

“Yeah sure. I mean he doesn’t look that bad either. Pretty handsome actually. His eyes are unusual though. Either ways it’s some nice pair of eyes he has. Has pretty sharp features actually and looks like a funny guy. Although he gives off this narcissistic vibe, I don’t know. Probably just me.” Roderich looked at her as if she was someone who just spitted out some random shit at him. 

“Nice observation skills, you got there,  Héderváry . It could be quite a use in bio class, you know.” Elizabeta turned around to see Basch standing there. 

 

She rolled her eyes at his statement and muttered a ‘whatever’ and retorted “I didn’t know we had to use last names now, huh, Zwingli.”

 

“Well now you do.” He walked off leaving the two in the dust and feeling quite smug, but of course he tried to hide the content on his face as he headed towards there usual seat in the cafeteria. The three sat down and took out some unfinished work. “So you and that new kid are a thing?” He asked staring at Roderich.

 

“You’re funny, Basch. We just met at Starbucks like weeks ago. Talked to him once in my life and you’re assuming we’re a thing. Very humorous.” Roderich rolled his eyes as he tried to concentrate on his work.

 

“You wish y’all were a thing,” Elizabeta said snickering. She saw her little Austrian friend blush beet red at the mention of his supposed crush on Gilbert. 

 

“Shut up,  Héderváry. I’m trying to get my work done, unlike you,” He exclaimed. Again he tried to ‘focus’ on his work but failed miserably.

 

“Oh my. Everybody addressing me by my last name today. Isn’t that great, Edelstein?” 

 

“Trying to get my work done, my ass. You don’t even have your name written on it,” Basch said. He himself had every finished one of the problems already while his two friends barely even started it. “At least Héderváry here, wrote her name down already and started the first problem with miniscule amount of work.”

 

“Miniscule?! I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is shit ton of work right here. Took a lot of brain power, Zwingli.” But she quickly shutted her mouth when she saw the teacher looking straight at her and she whispered a ‘sorry.’ Elizabeta looked at her Swiss friend and said quietly, “Jeez, Basch. What’s with you today?”

 

He looked at her and shrugged. “I don’t know, just felt the need. Anyways let’s just get this thing done before this period ends.”

 

__________

Friday  
9:00 AM  
Art|

 

Gilbert sat down on his seat as he arranged his stuff on his table. To be honest, Gilbert here wasn’t a artsy type of guy. It wasn’t like he didn’t like it, but it’s not like he likes it, either. Art was a pretty ‘meh’ thing for him. Although it was pretty to look at and he often wonders how do people even draw such a thing. He looked at the seat to his left which was empty and wondered if Antonio was coming or not. “ _ Why am I anticipating him? Am I that lonely? _ ” He thought in irritation. Right at that moment, a lovely green-eyed Spaniard came bursting in the classroom. The Spaniard waved excitedly at Gilbert with such optimism and happiness.

 

“ _ Speak of the devil, here he is _ . . .” Gilbert muttered, running a hand through his hair. 

 

The Spaniard sat in his seat and faced Gilbert with a big smile. “¿Qué pasa, mi amigo?” 

 

“Mmh good,” Gilbert replied. 

 

“Making any new friends?” Antonio asked, slightly leaning towards the German.

 

“Not really. I’ve really only talked to you, Francis, and this girl who has a locker next to mines.” He shrugged. Gilbert didn’t really care if he made any friends or not. I guess he was always alone, somehow. He proclaims that being alone didn’t bother him and being lonely is awesome. Gilbert seems like the type of person who would have a ton of friends, honestly, he doesn’t. It gets quite awkward when someone tells him, “You look like you have a lot of friends.” He had a few friends, here and there, but they were never close enough that he would tell everything to. A lonely man on the inside, that’s how you would describe Gilbert Beilschmidt. Although he says that being lonely doesn’t bother him, sometimes just sometimes he wishes that someone or anyone would just come up to him. So many years has passed and the term ‘best friends’ does not exist in Gilbert’s mind and world. It’s nonexistent. This is probably the reason why he’s so attached to his younger brother. Ludwig was the only person he has known that has been by his side for so long. Ludwig has saven him so many times, it was uncountable. Despite all of this, Gilbert is determined person. Once he has a goal, no one can stop him. If he has a mind set on something, he’s going to do it and you’re not going to stop him. 

 

“Who’s the girl? I want to know?” Antonio asked as he leaned even further towards Gilbert.

 

“Her name is Elizabeth or something.” Gilbert said as he got up to get his art portfolio that he made yesterday. 

 

“Ahh, Elizabeta. She’s a pretty one,” Antonio said. 

 

“Mm, yeah.” Gilbert nodded along. Elizabeta was indeed beautiful. She was quite a stunning woman indeed. 

 

“You like her?” 

 

Gilbert looked dead straight at his Spanish aquaintance and said, “I don’t. Do you? You seem to be curious about her.” 

 

“I mean, she is pretty. What’s wrong with me wanting to know about her? Actually, I don’t want to know about her. I want to know about you and her.” The Spaniard took out the artwork he was working on yesterday, examining it like a crime scene. “Ay Dios míos. Look at this. So ugly.”

 

Gilbert snickered and smugly exclaimed, “Ya noob. Mine’s fabulous.” 

 

The whole period went around like that. Both of them clearly seemed to enjoy each other’s prescence and frequently gossipped about the latest news and stories that happened. Their task was to just finish the artwork from yesterday which was to sketch a sphere as for starters in sketch. Gilbert himself had to redo it twice. First, while he was erasing some parts of his sphere to ‘perfect’ it, he added too much pressure on his eraser and ended up tearing the paper up. Second time was when he got frustrated and ended up crumpling his work since his first work was done quite well and he was almost finish but it ended up in the garbage at the end. “The second one just wasn’t like the first one”, he says. This third time though however did not end up in the garbage much to Gilbert’s relief. Although it does seem a bit rushed due to his frustration, it was better than the second one and much better than his little friend Antonio’s. “You know, I heard there was a shooting around in one of the high schools in New York. Bronx I think,” He said to Antonio.

 

“Yeah I heard. It’s crazy you know,” Antonio replied shaking his head. Gilbert nodded in agreement. And then came silence. Both were absorbed in their work. A never before moment in art class. Each of them were focused on their work, eyes filled with serious as their hands used the graphite to add shading to the sphere. “Woah, this might be the first time I was so into drawing,” Antonio said in amazement. He lifted the paper up with his pencil in his mouth and looked at it with astonishment. To him, the paper seem to glow like an open treasure chest filled with gold, so much that it gave off a seemingly golden luminosity that was enough to deprive one’s vision.

 

Gilbert looked over at Antonio’s drawing and nodded in surprised. “Hm, never knew you can draw that well. The difference from what you had in the beginning to now is drastic,” He said. He was geniunely surprised at his Spanish friend’s sketch.

 

“I think I might have discover my secret talent!” Antonio gasped a little at his most recent discovery about himself. 

 

“I am SO . . . shooketh . . .” Gilbert said with his eyes wide in exxageration.

 

“This discovery must be marked down in history!” Antonio exclaimed with a clenched fist. 

  
  


And that kids, was art class with Gilbert and Antonio.

 

_ El fin. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have nice day guys. stay positive and i love all of you beautiful people ♡♡♡♡♡♡
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	8. acht

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back lol. 
> 
> After a long maybe two months, I suppose, a bitch is back with a new chapter hehe.
> 
> Sorry to keep you guys waiting so long. There were some parts of this chapter that I had a hard time writing. It was either I didn't like it and I got rid of it or I just simply didn't know what in the world to write. Sucks to be me.
> 
> Italics - German

A month has passed since the Beilschmidt brothers had enrolled in the academy. Ludwig was quiet, but he had managed to gain a few friends. One of them in particular was a Italian by the name of Feliciano. When the two had met, the Italian had introduced Ludwig to his older brother, Lovino who goes by the name Romano. Romano was a sophomore at this time and had portrayed a deep unknown disinterest and dislike for Ludwig. He had told his younger brother to stay away from him and that he was just another potato eating sucker ball that was going to lead him astray. Of course, Feliciano did not listen to his brother’s remark on his new German friend and proceeded to defend Ludwig. Romano then left him, sighing complaining on when is he ever going to learn. A normal day for Ludwig was with Romano’s constant dark stare at him, especially during lunch since he sits with Feliciano. It was uncomfortable and he’d rather be in the presence of his older brother, but unfortunately they didn’t have lunch together. 

 

Gilbert became very close to Francis and Antonio in the past month. Due to the fact that they’ve seen each other before he arrived at the academy, it brought them closer together. Usually during lunch, they would share stories about their travels. Occasionally they would bring up, the latest gossip in the academy which was mainly from Francis. They got along well and had great chemistry with each other. Although, school had only started for a month, they seem to be as close as ever. This, of course, made Gilbert happy. He had spent his whole life back in Germany and yet, he wasn’t able to get even one friend that he could be able to tell everything with. Obviously, he didn’t tell Antonio and Francis everything, but it seemed to him that they felt like the type of people, who he can tell anything to. Slowly and slowly, he opened up himself to his newfound friends. He hoped that their friendship and close bond would last for lifetime. He really liked both of them. 

 

Roderich, on the other hand was obviously still low key infatuated with Gilbert. Though he may not know and just thinks that it’s just a mini crush, we all know that wasn’t really it. Occasionally, his friends would tease him about, but he would just roll his eyes and brush it off like it was the dust on his piano. 

 

Gilbert, to be honest, didn’t pay as much attention to Roderich. He just thought of him as the Starbucks guy who sat in front of him during calculus and stared at him when they first met. It was mainly a one-sided crush. The German didn’t know of his infatuated classmate’s crush on him and didn’t really care that much. Sometimes, of course, just sometimes, he liked to poke fun in his violet-eyed classmate. Wasn’t much of a prank, but enough to tick his fellow classmate off. Roderich would leave him, fuming with a red face, wondering how in the world did he end up even liking this guy. It was amusing for Gilbert, he’s well known for teasing people. But for most of time, he’d usually isolate himself from others. He was still indeed unfamiliar with the area and the people, but so far he met a quite a few good ones. Back in Germany, he was a knack at being a loud person especially after school and at home. That resulted in a few detentions after school for him to his dismay. 

 

It was 11 and there was only a few more class periods to go. Gilbert didn’t have any extracurricular activities nor did he have a job. He was just that broke and jobless high school senior. He used to have a job though, but not anymore. He has had experience working as a cashier and a barista, but in a place like New York City, it was hard for one to find a job. There was tons of competition around him. As for now, he decided to remove “getting a job” from his main priority list, for that didn’t bother him. He already work a lot before he came to America. Now he would just go home and plop down on his chair and do his homework. Although he may not seem like it, he’s actually a productive person, but he just gets distracted very easily. Gilbert doesn’t admit it to others, but he’s actually a smart person. From the outside, he seems like a dumb person who lacks common sense, but inside is a hidden world to be discovered. There was many things about him that many people don’t know. His ego was always too big to admit it. From the looks of him, he looks like a arrogant guy due to his facial expression. It was always a self-satisfied look or an “not gonna do anything” one. It was quite rare for him to have a serious expression on his face. 

 

Gilbert sat in an almost empty classroom for horticulture. Not a lot of students in the academy took horticulture class. There was only a few sets of students there, waiting for the students arrival. Most were on their phones and scrolling through their social media platforms, checking their snaps, liking someone’s instagram post, or texting someone. He sat near the window, to which he saw were a bunch of plants in a pot sitting on the window sill. On the teacher’s desk, next to the open computer stood a Japanese Maple Bonsai plant, neatly trimmed and elegant with leaves a gentle mix of red and orange. It was a sight to see and Gilbert was impressed that one could even manage to keep something so extraordinary in a classroom. On the whiteboard, there was a little space with a detailed drawing of a flower petal, labeled with parts of it. This is his first year taking horticulture class and to be honest, he didn’t really know anything. He just thought of it was a class about plants and was he excited to attend this class? A little bit. Before he had this class, he took a class on computer science and he wasn’t quite too interested, so he decided to drop it. He didn’t want to his schedule to change, so his only choices was to get another study hall or take horticulture class. When he entered the classroom, there was some sort of weird calmness in him. He felt relaxed in the horticulture classroom with few students around and a nice teacher and beautiful scenery, he ultimately felt relaxed in peace. He flipped through his textbook and scanned through a couple of pages on the topic. They were still in the beginning of the year and had only learned about parts of plants so far. It was quite interesting to him since, Gilbert himself was noted to have a gardening hobby of his own. Quite recently, he had ordered some edelweiss and chamomile seeds, so he could grow them in his free time. Gilbert also wanted to grow some potatoes, all 100% organic, non-GMO, and freshly homegrown called: “The Great Gilbert’s Potatoes.”

 

He closed his textbook and sat back on his chair. His head tilted up, looking at the ceiling of the room. His eyes squinted as he continuously stares at the light and then he went to looking at the cover of his textbook. There was only a minute before the bell would rang and everyone else were still busy on their phones, so he decided to take out his phone as well, just to pass the time, but not long after the bell rang and class was starting. The teacher was about to close the classroom door before someone stopped it. Out by the doorway stood a brunette with a pair of gorgeous violet eyes that was covered by a pair of glasses. The teacher apologized to him and proceeded to open the door. The other also apologized for being late as he entered the room, swiftly. He went to his desk and sat down and laid all his things on the desk. Gilbert stared at him and after a while the other lad had seemed to notice Gilbert’s constant stare at him at the back of his head, he turned around and was met with a pair of striking red and blue eyes. Gilbert saw him and turned around and looked at the window instead. His heart thumped heavily against his chest. He was just caught red-handed for staring at someone! He put his hand on his chest and felt the beat and took a deep breath. Breathe in and breathe out. Without a mirror in sight, Gilbert didn’t how red his face was, so he rested his face on his hands, covering most of his face, hoping that no one would notice it until he calmed down. 

 

Our little Roderich Edelstein at the same time was also blushing too. His face was slightly tinted with a pink hue which dusted on his cheeks very prettily. He tried to not assume much and try to not believe what he saw. In his mind, there was no way, Gilbert would even spare a glance on him, but from moments before, it seemed like the boy with hair as bright as the snow and ice in the winter indeed did. Sitting in front was a great disadvantage for him now, as he tried to calm down. 

 

“I love myself. I hope he didn’t take it any other way,” Gilbert thought as he smiled grimly. He felt his face cool down and he rested his chin on his right hand. Eyes staring at the board as he tried to insert all the new information into his brain. He lifted his pencil up and began to write down his notes. Occasionally, he would go off to the sides of his paper and doodle or something. It was an effective way to pass time and he couldn’t care less if he got caught. Either ways, he was listening to the teacher and he understood what was going on in the class. He isn’t that dumb like what others thought of him to be. And before he knew it, class had ended. The sound of bell rang through his ears and he gathered up his stuff and walked out, calm and collected.

 

Roderich had spent half of the period, thinking about Gilbert. He tried to focus, but somehow his mind would wander off to the German lad. It made him feel like a little teenage girl who couldn’t control her hormones and fall in love with anyone that looks good. “Who am I? Where am I?” He muttered as he left the classroom. “Honestly I don’t even know anymore.” He had lunch next, which means he would catch a glimpse of Gilbert again...hopefully. Roderich didn’t want to get his hopes high anyways, he just wanted to enjoy everything as much as he can now. Who knows, maybe later in life, they might become friends or something. Roderich’s sexuality wasn’t a secret to his friends, Elizabeta, Basch, and Erika knew about it. He has never told anyone else, for the fear of being scorned at or made fun of. He knew that in the modern world now, homosexuality, bisexuality, and the such were widely supported. The LGBT community was big and he knew he wasn’t the only one, but there was still this little fear in his heart that prevented him from doing so. He didn’t how his parents would react to it and it’s not like they care much about him in the first place, or so that’s how he thinks. They were old-fashioned and Roderich is afraid of their rejection, so he just kept it to himself and only his closest friends. He secretly envied Francis; he was able to openly express his sexuality with confidence. Roderich wished he had that much self-confidence in himself. 

 

He shoved his belongings in his locker and walked his way to the cafeteria. On his way, a white whirlwind went right passed him. He looked up to see Gilbert with Francis and Antonio. “He sure makes friends fast,” Roderich thought. He shrugged and went to meet up with Elizabeta and Basch. He sighed as he sat down.

 

“Why are you always sighing? Smile more, you seem like an old man already,” exclaimed Elizabeta. She shook her head at her friend. 

 

“Why bother? His mental age is already of an old man’s,” Basch said.

 

Roderich looked up at Basch and gave him a shocked face. “I’ve been your most endearing friend for all these years ever since childhood...and this how you treat me! Am I a joke to you?!” Basch snorted and he went back to look at his phone. 

 

“Goddamnit, Basch.” Roderich muttered and stood up. “Whatever, Elizabeta let;s get lunch.

 

“Haha, he’s so done with you.” Elizabeta giggled as they went on the line. “The differences between his face when he sees you and when he sees Erika is hilarious.

 

“When will both of you stop bullying me? This is unfair treatment.” Roderich rolled his eyes and turned away from Elizabeta. 

 

“Don’t be mad, Roddy, haha. Oh hey, Gilbert.” Elizabeta waved at Gilbert and welcomed him and his friends to come in the line. “Special day for you guys. Y’all get to skip the long line here.” At the mention of Gilbert’s name, Roderich turned around and his eyes widened as he saw Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio headed toward him and Elizabeta. 

 

“Goddamnit Elizabeta, why did you bring them here?” Roderich mouthed to Elizabeta. 

 

“Aw come on, just being nice, you know,” she replied and winked at him. The three came into the line. “So, how’s America for you right now, Gilbert?”

 

“It’s okay, could be better though.” He replied. “What’s for lunch today?”

 

“I don’t know.” Elizabeta shrugged. She then, allowed them to see Roderich and introduced him. “And this is Roderich, pretty sure you met him before.”

 

“Oh yes, I have. Never knew he’d eat school lunch, aha.” Gilbert snickered a little as he rested himself on the wall, facing Francis and Antonio. 

 

“What did you mean by that?” Roderich asked, clearly offended.

 

“I mean, I’m just saying...you act so prim all the time. I just assumed that you think school lunch is not up to your standards, you get what I mean.” Gilbert said. 

 

“Loosen up a little, Roderich. Just loosen up yourself.” Antonio said with a smile as Francis nodded. The Spaniard knew Roderich well. A very closed off reserved man. 

 

“Prim? I don’t think so. Have you seen his room?” Elizabeta exclaimed. Roderich’s room was a total mess. Despite his neat attitude, he’s actually pretty dirty and cheap, too. “He might act like royalty, but I’m telling you, guy’s a damn cheapskate.”

 

“God, why is everyone making of me today?” Roderich exclaimed. “I hate people.”

 

“Don’t be worried, mon amie. Even if everyone left you, even if the sky is falling, I will always love you. Don’t you ever forget that.” Francis winked at him and turn to see four faces looking at him in cringe.

 

“He does this normally.” Elizabeta said nudging at Gilbert. He mouthed a ‘I know’ at her. The first time him and the Frenchmen met was quite a bit flirtatious. At a coffeeshop in the morning, a couple hours before his shift ended. Who knew that, he was once again, going to meet that very man again in America.

 

The day pass pretty quick for our young German man. He was very excited to go home. Gilbert stood outside the academy waiting for his younger brother. Finally, he spotted Ludwig in a midst of a conversation with his newly made Italian friend. Gilbert ran up to them and said with a smile, “So you are the person that West has talked so much about.” 

 

Ludwig turned red and smacked his brother. “Stop lying, brother.” 

 

The two laughed at Ludwig’s embarrassed state and proceeded to introduce themselves. Feliciano was a VERY energetic person with a VERY bright personality. Him and Gilbert’s first conversation was going pretty well until Ludwig popped up and told his Italian friend that he and his brother needed to go home now. Gilbert looked disappointed as Ludwig dragged him away. “ _ Aw come on, West. I could’ve talked with him more. _ ” He pouted as he was still being dragged away. “Y _ ou drag me to school and now you drag me back home. You act like you’re my big brother now _ .”

 

“ _ Well maybe if you would use your brain for once and didn’t act like you have only one single existing brain cell half the time, I wouldn’t have to put up with you _ .” Ludwig sighed as he let go of his brother.

 

“ _ Excuse you, West. Anyways, you look down and I, Gilbert Beilschmidt, as your dedicated big brother of many years, knows just what to do to cheer you up. Let’s go to Starbucks and get you some upper class coffee _ .” This time it was Gilbert who was dragging Ludwig. Ludwig didn’t have much choice. I mean, a nice cup of coffee sounded nice anyways even if it was the middle of the day.  The two German brothers arrived at the famous coffee chain that started out in Seattle. “ _ It’s on me today, my sad little brother. _ ”

The two talked amongst themselves as they tried to figure out what they want to get. The line was long and it was getting longer. Gilbert urged Ludwig to quickly choose since he didn’t want to wait so long on the line.” _ Goddamnit West. Do I need to buy the whole drinks menu for you? _ ”

 

“ _ I think you might need to do that. Either ways, it’s on you, so… _ ” Ludwig laughed as Gilbert continuously urged him. “ _ I think I might go for a iced coffee. _ ”

 

“ _An iced coffee? Are you kidding me right now? After all this time, you want to order a iced coffee, I should’ve known from the start._ ” Gilbert huffed in annoyance and continued, “ _Guess I’m going to get an iced coffee, too._ _Size?_ ”

 

“ _ Oh shut up, brother. You just wait for me to make the decision and you just follow along. Grande will do. _ ” 

 

Gilbert rolled his eyes and went on the line. “ _ We should’ve just went on line while we were deciding. It doesn’t seem like this line is moving anytime soon, _ ” he thought. But soon enough, the line went flowing along and Gilbert as right in front of a very familiar cashier. “Oh hello, Roderich. Guess you won’t be staring off to space like last time, huh,” he laughed.

 

“Why don’t you give me your order, Gilbert and save me and the line some time?” Roderich said sternly. After a long day at school and now he had to work. It sure was hard on him. He’d rather be at home and play his piano then standing in a over crowded coffee shop and give orders to random strangers. 

 

“Sure thing, Edelstein. I would like a two grande iced coffee.” Gilbert took out his wallet and took out a 10 dollar bill as two grande iced coffee wouldn’t cost that much.

 

“$5.77.” Roderich took the $10 bill and handed Gilbert back the change. He took two cups and stuck a label on each of them. “Thank you and your order will be right up.” He gave the German a forced out smile, but to his surprise Gilbert also smiled back which  left Roderich standing there at the counter will a fast pumping heart. He continued to take orders from the customers, but all the while talking notice of Gilbert and this other tall blonde figure. He assumed that it was probably Gilbert’s brother, since he talked quite lot about him when they were on the lunch line together.  His brother had blonde hair and the classic striking blue eyes. He was around the same height as Gilbert, but pretty soon enough, he will probably grow taller than his older brother. “He will probably be devastated when he realizes that his own little brother is taller than him, haha,” Roderich thought in amusement. His eyes wandered back to Gilbert and then back to the two. From his place, he saw a clear picture of the two brothers. The sight really melted his heart. Roderich was a single child and for most of the time, his parents worked and didn’t have much time to care for him. They were rich business people and worked overseas usually. He didn’t have anyone to play with when he was younger nor did he have anyone to take care of or someone to take care of him. But then again, Roderich was a person who prefered to play his piano then talk to anyone or any human interactions in the first place. 

 

Roderich sighed as he went back to work. Working was the only thing he can do as of now. He didn’t need to work in the first place. He came from a well-off family, why work...well the reason isn’t quite clear. One day, he just woke up and decided that he needed to find a job. And he sure did at Starbucks. “Hm perhaps I might get a raise or something,” he muttered as he left the counter to make the drinks.

 

He hummed a little song. “I sure hope I get a raise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the next chapter will come up soon. I just need to get over this sickly thing which we call: writer's block.
> 
> I'll survive.  
> somehow I always do.
> 
> oh yeah, game of thrones's final season is coming up and i am so excited!!


	9. neun

A chilly wind brushed by a young man’s face. His usually pale cheeks turned a slight rosy color from the cold contact from the wind, but luckily the sun was shining bright and the warmth the rays give off, melted off the coldness in seconds. The leaves on the ground made cluttering sounds as they were blowed against each other from the wind. Pigeons flew by and landed atop on the power lines, all in single, neat row. To the bottom, right below that area, was a sloppy line of dry pigeon droppings, which sends a message that one was be careful from where the pigeons rested. You never who they will strike next, maybe you perhaps. You might just be walking along the streets, minding your business, and all of a sudden you see a hear a very slight, almost silent sound. Then, comes the stench, the utterfully wonderful stench and sight and knowledge of the fact that a mere pigeon just took a dump on you right in the middle of the streets. Downright nauseating and the embarrassment that creeps up when you realized that someone might have seen it.

 

Gilbert wasn’t dumb and he knew to steer clear from the wires in the sky. He took out his earbuds, only to be faced with a annoying sight of them tangled...like always. He quickly tried to untangle them, but obviously it takes some skills to do it. His patience ran thin, as frustration started to grow, but he couldn’t afford to break it or damage it. Finally and I mean finally, the wires were untangled. He took out his phone and connected them together, preparing to listen to his music. He felt the cold breeze against his face and took a deep breath. Around him, all the leaves were falling to ground. Whenever he would step on a leaf, a crinkling snapping sound would be heard. It reminded him of when he was young, playing around in the backyard of his old grade school with his classmates, running around like a wild animal and having nothing to worry about. Those good old times.

 

He walked around the bustling city until he saw a nearby park. It was filled with young children playing around in the swings, on the slides, running around and playing tag. He entered the park and found an empty bench. He brushed the leaves away and sat down, looking up at the bright blue sky. It was 11 in the morning, almost 12. A couple of birds arrived, pecking at the ground for food. Normally, he would go on a morning run or something. Gilbert was a early bird, along with Ludwig and the two brothers would typically wake up at around 8 during the weekends. Maybe earlier, who knows? Although most of time, Gilbert would pester Ludwig on to make breakfast for him, as he is too lazy to get out of bed. A typical morning with the Beilschmidt brothers.

 

Gilbert didn’t have much for breakfast and he had nothing to do anyways. Might as well go on a stroll around the city. It was just him and his music alone on a bench at the park and then go somewhere and eat something. Great way to pass time. From his view of the park, he could see most of the people there. From out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. The figure was dressed in a beige trench coat and black khakis. It was long till he realized that it was Roderich. He was surprise since Elizabeta had told him that Roderich wasn’t a morning person and would usually wake up at around 11 or 12. He walked up to the brunette and said, “Never knew you would be here at the park at this hour. I’m genuinely surprised.”

 

The brunette turned around to see a platinum blonde-haired man with a nonchalant smile on his face. He was dressed in his usual red jacket paired with a white t-shirt on the inside with black sweats. The red jacket emphasized the red hue in his iris. “Why hello there, Gilbert..” Roderich replied swiftly. “What’s with the look? I can’t wake up early?” He continued.

 

“Oh no. I’m not saying you can’t wake up early. I’m just...surprised, you know.” Gilbert took the ear bud out of his left ear and continued, “Elizabeta told me a lot of things about you last night.”

 

Roderich raised one of his eyebrow, surprised. “Oh she did. How?”

 

“Yeah, we just talked over the phone.” Gilbert nodded and went back to scrolling through his phone at whatever he was looking at. “So...how’s your morning?”

 

“Oh just great. I just thought it would be a nice change and wake up earlier on the weekends. Elizabeta’s always nagging at me for that. I’m probably going to go back to my regular schedule tomorrow,” Roderich replied looking down at the ground. He was nervous. He had never had an one on one conversation with Gilbert before, if you excluded the encounters at Starbucks that is. “You?”

 

“Eh, feels pretty normal, I suppose. I bet Elizabeta would be crying tears of happiness when she hears that her dear Roderich had woken up early. What a rare moment, isn’t it?”

 

Roderich chuckled, “I’m sure she is.”

It was under the skies, beneath the clouds, where the two shared a good, hearty laugh with each other. The sweet moment ended shortly after. With nothing more to say and to avoid the upcoming awkwardness, Roderich told Gilbert he had to leave to get something to eat since he hadn’t ate breakfast yet. “Can I come with you then? I want to see more of the city which everyone calls: ‘The City That Never Sleeps.’”

 

Roderich’s eyes widened in slight shock as he replied, “You sure about that? I’m just going to a bakery and that’s it.”

 

Gilbert nodded. “Why not? I don’t work and I don’t have anything else to do. Might as well go on a walk to a bakery with you. It’s not like I don’t know you or anything...unless you’d rather go by yourself.” To be honest, he didn’t really mind if Roderich didn’t want to take him since he can always just walk around by himself. But it would indeed be nicer, if someone that knows this city well enough would take him around a stroll. Plus, he would have someone to talk to.

 

“Well you seem to be willing, so I guess I might as well take you with me,” Roderich said. He turned around and started walking and looked back at Gilbert. “So are you excited for an amazing walk to the bakery?”

 

“I sure am, comrade.” Gilbert laughed as the two walked along the street to their destination.

 

The streets was filled with cars zooming by. People walking, trying to get where they needed to be. Birds flocked around and pecked at the ground or leftover food on the ground. The autumn air was crisp and refreshing and the sun was peeking through the clouds. The cold breeze was quickly met with the melting warmth from the sun. “Today’s weather sure is good. I wish everyday was like this,” Gilbert said as he and Roderich were waiting at to cross the road.

 

“Yeah you’re right. It is pretty nice today. We’re almost at the bakery, we just need to cross this road and head up that way,” Roderich said, his eyes were glittering with excitement.

 

Gilbert took notice of it and was quite amused. “You seem excited. I thought it was just a boring little bakery.”

 

“Boring little bakery? Wait till you see it. The coffee there is pretty damn good and it’s cheaper than the ones at Starbucks.” Roderich ushered Gilbert to walk faster as they crossed the road. Roderich wasn’t a fast walker, but the excitement from everything that just happened to him pushed him to walk faster. He couldn’t wait to show Gilbert the place.

 

The two had finally reached their wanted destination, Paris Baguette. “Paris Baguette? Sounds fancy, is it a French bakery or something?” Gilbert asked. Gilbert felt like he saw it before when he went to Paris for a 8 day trip to France for his French classes. “Looks familiar, might’ve saw it when I went to France.”

 

“Oh no, it’s a Korean bakery chain. You’ve been to France?” Roderich replied with atonishment.

 

“Yes, I have. How’d you think of me now, huh? Aren’t I so cool?” Gilbert wiggled his eyebrows at the latter with a smirk plastered on his face. Roderich scoffed at him and proceeded to enter the automatic doors that lead into Paris Baguette. The bakery was as busy as usual, workers went here and there to restock their products. People lined up to pay for their food and others sat down in a comfy seat next to the windows. Roderich lead Gilbert to the area where they put the clean trays. “Wow, all the bread looks so topnotch, they must be expensive right?” Gilbert took out his wallet and checked it. “Nice, $10. Guess I won’t be buying anything unless you want to treat me to this or whatever.”

 

“You need to try some of food from here and…$10 looks enough for some little bread and a iced coffee,” Roderich said, picking out his bread. “But since I’m in a good mood today, I suppose I can treat you just this once.”

 

Gilbert pat Roderich’s shoulders and laughed, “You know, you look and sound like those kind of people who says they’re going to treat you and later on tells them to pay them back. Has anyone ever told you that?” He turned away from Roderich and scanned the place in front of him.

 

“Yeah, one of my friend always tells me that, but I mean he’s a cheapskate, too so...” Roderich trailed off and shrugged his shoulders. “Anyways, what do you want to eat?”

 

Gilbert stared at the tray in Roderich’s hand. The brunette had chosen a simple chocolate croissant and seeing that, he decided he was going to get the same thing too, simply because he didn’t know what to get. “I think I’m going to get the one you’re getting and some coffee since you practically demanded that I needed to try some. Bet it tastes the same as the ones you get from Starbucks.”

 

“Well yeah, kind of, but that’s the point. You can basically get a iced coffee from Starbucks but for a lower price, you know,” Roderich picked out another croissant for Gilbert and headed towards the busy line. “It’s all about the money, Gilbert.”

 

Gilbert went to a seat beside the window and saved the spot for him and Roderich. He rested his chin on his hand and stared out the glass window which lengthed from the ceiling to floor. Everything was quiet for a moment, the view drained out all noises from him. There was a set of stairs and a fountain at the side of the building where Paris Baguette was located. He sat there, watching the people walking up and down the stairs, crossing the streets, doing their own little things. The moment ended soon when Roderich arrived with a tray as he sat across from him. He took the croissant from the tray and grabbed a tissue and wrapped the tissue around the piece of croissant. Gilbert opened his mouth to take a bite and the rich semi-sweet chocolate melted in his mouth. He took a sip from his iced coffee and looked up at Roderich. “It’s not bad actually,” he said as he took another bite from his croissant. “Are there any other fun places around here?”

 

“Fun places? I don’t think you should ask me, I stay home all day,” Roderich replied, enjoying his late brunch meal.

 

“What do you do at home? Play the piano?” Gilbert asked, raising his eyebrows.

 

“Yes, I do play my piano...How did you know of this?” Roderich had never told Gilbert that he knew how to play the piano. He could have, but he didn’t. “Did Elizabeta tell you? Nevermind that, of course it’s her. It’s always her.”

 

“You’re right. She told me you were some music maniac or something.” Gilbert gave a light laugh as he continued to eat his food, sipping on his coffee here and there.

 

“Huh, I wonder what how much more did she tell you?”

 

“Quite a lot, I suppose.”

 

The two laughed now under the ceiling in the bakery. Unfinished iced coffee on the side with a croissant in their hands. The light shined through the windows, illuminating their faces and their sparkling eyes. Their conversation was a pleasing one. It was filled with occasional laughs and a little happy smiles. The trees outside swifted back and forth, the leaves swaying along with the wind. It was autumn, the season of the falling leaves.

 

_Just like what Albert Camus has said, “Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit short. I just didn't really know what to write, I was just kinda stuck there, you know. But I definitely had fun writing the beginning of this chapter. Literally spent a good paragraph talking about pigeon droppings :)))


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